Wreck the vote

A brand new ABC poll tells us that most Americans feel that we won't know who the new president will be on election night.

Who can blame them for being cynical? With each passing day -- hell, each passing hour -- we receive a clearer picture of a nationwide conservative plot to crush all hopes of a fair vote. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now has devoted an eye-opening segment to this issue.

A round-up of a few recent warning signs:

Maine: Evelyn Smith, the Registrar of voters in Rockland, advertises her distaste for Bill Clinton and the Democratic party, although she refuses to post the required notification of voters' rights. She stands of accused of improperly refusing to acknowledge voter registration cards from people in nursing homes.

New Mexico: Voters in one county were given absentee ballots in envelopes marked "June 1."

Michigan and Ohio: A judge ruled against Democratic lawyers who wanted to count votes for federal office accidentally cast in the wrong precinct. Also see this excellent piece in Buzzflash. These rulings defy Federal law (the "Help America Vote Act"), which requires states to collect provisional ballots and try to verify them.

Pennsylvania: a "block the vote" scandal is shaking the city of brotherly love. Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, a huge power among that state's Republicans, offered this chilling quote: "The Kerry campaign needs to come out with humongous numbers here in Philadelphia. It's important for me to keep that number down." Expect challenges to every possible registered Democrat.

Florida (The horror! The horror!): This CBS analysis offers the best investigation yet -- at least by a mainstream news org -- of the perils of compu-voting. If you want to know why I consider Florida an unwinnable one-party state, look no further. Also:

Decisions by Republican election officials that could disqualify many newly registered voters based on what some consider technicalities. For instance, Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, an elector for Bush in 2000, has ordered county election officials in that state to reject registration forms from voters who failed to check a citizenship status box, even if they signed a statement at the bottom affirming their U.S. citizenship.

One of the more troubling signs: Conservative propagandists have tried to whip up false fear that Democrats are using fraudulent tactics. See, for example, Phyllis Schlafly's extraordinary love letter to the paperless ballot.

Why has this become the new reactionary meme? Because the GOP's vote-stealing efforts have become so obvious, so outrageous, that the spinsters need to find ways of making the electorate think: "Yeah, well, both sides are doing it -- it all evens out."

To prove the point, check out this piece by New Hampshire conservative Jonah Goldberg:

The report that a firm in Nevada allegedly tore up the registration forms of Democrats and Independents is just one small example of how both sides play games with the rules.

No, Johnny-boy. It's an example of Republican racketeering. Tearing up registration forms is a crime, not a "game."

There is no equivalence between the parties on this issue. When Democrats talk about vote fraud, they refer to things like fake "election workers" picking up absentee ballots from the homes of elderly blacks -- and yes, just such tactics have been used. Conversely:

...when Republicans talk about "voter fraud," they are typically not talking about illegal voters or ballot-box stuffing, but about perfectly eligible voters who fail to figure out and overcome official acts of incompetence or malice, such as complicated ballots and registration forms, voter registrar errors, or poorly advertised changes in polling places.

If you're concerned about this issue (and if you're not, you're nuts), the "Fair Election" web site and the Voting Rights Project site suggests how you can take action.